Friday, January 30, 2009

You all know I wouldn't leave you on the Friday before Super Bowl Sunday without a recipe to serve at your party on Sunday! Now until yesterday I didn't know who was playing or what time the game started but I sure did know what I was going to whip up! This is a super easy, super good recipe that I promise you all will enjoy. It is called Redneck Caviar and there are all sorts of versions (so feel free to add or leave out any ingredient) but this is how I make mine ...

2 cans of white corn, drained1 can of black eyed peas, drained1 can of black beans, drained1 can of Rotel1 large can of diced tomatoes (or you can chop up fresh ones yourself)2 large bell peppers, chopped (I will probably use one red and one green for lots of color)a little bit on cilantroa couple of chopped green onionsa few shakes of garlic powder and garlic saltabout 3/4 a bottle of zesty italian dressing OR ceasar dressing (I prefer ceasar because it is creamier)

Shake up all ingredients in a large bowl and place covered in the refrigerator for appx. 12 hours. Best served with Tostito Scoops.

Now for all you weight watchers ... don't hold me to this because I do not know for 100% positive but someone told me that this is 0 WW points. Obviously excluding the chips. But like I said that is just hear-say!

A couple of weeks after we got married the Beau's mom gave me a gift ... the ring pictured above. It was the Beau's great great (maybe another great) aunt's wedding band. It is a thin, platinum band with some etching and 4 teeny-tiny diamonds embedded across the top of the band. I thought that it was so sweet of her to give it to me, it fit perfectly, and I have worn it on my right hand since the day I received it. However, I didn't fully appreciate the significance of the ring until last night.

I was laying on the couch watching a Seinfeld re-run waiting for the Beau to get home from work. I had the ring in my hand and I was just twirling it around when I noticed engraving on the inside of the band. It took a couple of seconds to figure out what it said because the engraving was faint. My eyes finally adjusted and in a fancy font was written:

John to Anne 12-23-1925

Chills went down my spine. This was not just some old ring. It was the legacy of a marriage ... a bride who was married 2 days before Christmas just over 83 years ago. Wow!

My imagination begin to turn as I started thinking about John and Anne. My immediate thought was that their love story was similar to Noah and Allie's in The Notebook or at least set in the same time period (although I read that their story did not begin until the 1940s). I began to wonder where this couple lived? How many children did they have? How old was Anne when she got married? Maybe John had returned from war just a few years prior. Did he have to leave 14 years after their marriage to serve in WW2? I hope not but its a good possibility. Its a good possibility that he didn't return. Yes .... this is how my mind works!

I will treasure this ring forever and will hopefully have the opportunity to pass it down one day to my daughter or possibly my son's wife.

Later I begin thinking that the Beau and I did not have either of our wedding bands engraved. But that will be done soon ... very soon. Maybe 83 years from now someone will lay on their couch and wonder about my love story. Good thing I have a blog :) lol.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I had about 7 extra pounds sticking to me like white on rice that were accumulated during all of my fall travel and over the holidays. I finally got sick of it and I have been "dieting" (I use the term extremely loosely) for about 3 weeks and the majority of the extra weight is gone. Fyi - my only tricks are portion control and lots of water. Anyway, I was cooking dinner the other night, the Beau walked in and tugged on my semi-sagging pants and our conversation went something like this:

Him: You are about to lose your pants there buddy!Me: I know man,what are we going to do about that? (thinking that the only logical answer to that question would be for him to say that I needed to buy new ones)Him without missing a beat: I guess you better start eating more! Exits room.

Seriously? Seriously. At my house we apparently don't alter (or buy) clothes to fit our bodies, we alter our bodies to fit our existing clothes. You can't win for losing at my house. And I mean that in the most literal way possible.

Why are the Ice Storms effecting me when we have had no bad weather whatsoever??? I have eaten dinner by my lonesome for the past 2 nights because the Beau has worked until after 8 pm because of the Ice Storms. Boo!

Why am I almost-25-years-old and my face continues to break out every single solitary month??? It will be real cute when my teenage daughter and I can share acne medication!

Why can I never remember everything I need at the grocery store??? And on that subject, why is my grocery bill always out of control??? There are only 2 people living in my house!

Why have I just now discovered these "faux twinkies"??? I don't think I have ever even had a real Twinkie but, boy, I have been missing out ... if the real ones are better than these I think I might die and go to heaven!

Why do the Cirque du Soleil Kooza tickets at Atlantic Station have to be 100+ dollars a piece??? I really want to go for Valentine's but I know the Beau isn't going to fork over $200+ for us to go (especially after I refused to go with him to see the Bodies and King Tut exhibits). Although I know it would be totally worth it! That might have to be a mother/ daughter event.

Monday, January 26, 2009

I have a question ... a boring question (possibly a stupid question) but I figure that you all are here to help me with the fun stuff and the not-so-fun stuff. Right? All you finance peeps listen up. For the past couple of years (since I have had a real job) I have claimed 0 and 0 on my taxes so I have always received a tax refund. I understand now that you should really try to break even ... receive nothing, owe nothing. But hindsight is 20/20 and nonetheless I am expecting to receive a refund this year of about $2,000 and the Beau will most likely be eligible for a refund of the same amount. So since we are getting refunds I would like to maximize the refund as much as possible (obviously). Here is my question - should the Beau and I file together as married or file separately? We don't qualify for any major deductions because we don't yet own a home or have anything significant to write-off. I am just a little confused ... marriage sure does complicate these kind of things :) Any help or advice you could give me will be much appreciated!

In other news I have been quite busy preparing for 2 showers I am hosting this month at my house!!! I LOVE giving showers and I have the tendency to go a little overboard but I have had the best time planning and I can't wait for it to all come together. One of the showers I am planning is for a college friend and it is going to be Monograms and Mimosas and I have to tell you that it is the most fun themed-shower to plan!!! I am going to try and wait to share all the details until after the shower so I can share pictures, etc. but I have to show you the invitation now because they are so cute I can't stand it. My "in real life friend" Emily at Savannah Redtops designed them for me and I couldn't be happier. I emailed her letting her know the type of shower and the colors I am using along with the basic information and she worked this up for me in just a few hours. She totally read my mind ... Thanks, Em!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

You could say we are living in the dark ages. In fact, it would be a pretty fair statement. The Beau and I don't own a lot of gadgets. Neither of us have an i-pod {gasp!} ... I know, I know, we are like the last people on planet earth. We don't have fancy phones or a Wii or any other game system for that matter. We don't have satellite radio or any sort of sound system hooked up to our television (surprisingly enough we do have a flat screen, hdtv or whatever you call it). We don't even have a digital camera any more for crying out loud ... mine broke this summer and we have yet to replace it! I am truly not complaining - these are just not things that we ask for for Christmas, birthdays, etc. We would prefer to go on a weekend getaway or a nice dinner out for our anniversary rather than buying a video camera. It's just us. And of course I would prefer jewelry or clothes or furniture if you are buying solely for me :)

Anyways, for Christmas this year the Beau's parents bought us a GPS which is awesome for me because I can't find my way out of a paper sack ... I seriously have the worst sense of direction. It's actually quite embarrassing sometimes. We haven't really been anywhere since Christmas so on our way to Atlanta this past weekend we decided to use the GPS even though we knew where we were going, we just wanted to try it out. Bad idea. Since we knew where we were going I was getting uber frustrated when it wasn't giving us the most efficient directions. Then it kept saying things like this .... turn right on to Lakewood Doctor or turn left on to Hammond Doctor. Are you kidding me!!!???!!! This is a 200 dollar NAVIGATION device and it doesn't know the difference between DRIVE and DOCTOR??? That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. We were both so mad but it was also quite humorous.

So in conclusion I think that the GPS is an idiot and I am frightened to use it again ... although I am going to South Carolina later today for work and I am depending on it to get me there. Maybe I am the idiot.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Beau works in Atlanta. We live about 50 miles south of Atlanta so that I can be close to my job and family and he commutes. It works for us. We have definitely toyed with the idea of moving half-way between here and there and we have even given thought to moving to Atlanta. But for now (and most likely for forever) we are 100% happy with where we are. You get the small-town living without being too far removed from a major city. There is one reason that I desperately want to move to the ATL .......... Nail Talk & Tan. We are talking about a nail salon ladies. Yes that is right, I would uproot and move given the opportunity to visit this particular nail salon once a week. First off let me tell you that every single nail place in my town is horrible - I am talking about nasty, filthy, disgusting, needs to be shut down asap. Let me also tell you that I don't spend money frivolously but I do love a good mani/ pedi every couple of weeks. It is my special little treat to myself. I enjoy every single solitary second of being pampered on! Since I don't like to go within a 5 mile radius of any nail salon in my town I will get my pedi in Atlanta at Nail Talk & Tan (specifically the one in Dunwoody near Perimeter Mall) any chance I get.

So when the Beau told me that he wanted to go to Atlanta this past Saturday for a boys night out with some friends from work I told him I was riding with him and immediately started planning the Ultimate Girls Night Out with one of my Atlanta besties. Of course our first stop was to my fave nail salon. With your standard pedi at NT&T you also get a massage and I am talking about a real, wonderful, full-out massage. Well of course you don't lie down on a bed or anything but you get hot washcloths on your face, they massage your temples, rub your head, and work on your back and shoulders for a good 20 minutes. 20 minutes of pure bliss. The whole experience takes close to 2 hours so you can't be in a hurry. Also note that this place is squeaky clean or I would never in a million years let them put a washcloth on my face! During the 2 hours 2 magical things happened. The first being that it snowed and we all know how much I love snow! The second being that I found my new favorite polish color ... OPI Pearls Night Out! I just took a picture of my foot with my new polish but I decided you all might be grossed out so I won't post it. Ha. I will try to explain instead - the color is a pearl white with a hint of metallic making it look like a winter wonderland on your nails! Very appropriate since it was snowing outside. It is a welcomed change to the dark reds, purples and blacks I have been wearing on my toes all winter. White is the new black!

Our next stop was to a little place called Chocolate Pink where we shared a Cookies and Cream cupcake and a Red Velvet cupcake. Heaven on a plate!!! And then we were off to see Bride Wars ... the ultimate chick-flick for our ultimate GNO. Good times, good times!!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

My theory is that .... alackofcaffeineismakingmeatotalemotionalandhormonalwreck!!!

Did you get that? Oh sorry. What I said was: a lack of caffeine is making me a total emotional and hormonal wreck.

Do you think that is possible?

I told ya'll that my NY Resolution was to drink only one coke per week. Let me emphasize that nothing in the whole wide world is better to me than a fully-leaded coke in a big ole styrofoam cup with crushed ice. I haven't had a sip of caffeine in 5 days! I had cravings and they have subsided for the most part. I had headaches and they too have finally subsided. But I am a basket-case (remember my post from Wednesday) and the lack of caffeine is the only variable that I can blame it on.

Am I the only one who cried (okay, sobbed) through President Bush's Farewell Address last night??!! No snide comments please and thank-you ... I might cry. haha :)

PS- I am saving my one coke for tomorrow when I go and see Bride Wars. Whoop, Whoop!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

When I first started blogging it was sort of a secret. Not a huge secret because my mom knew and after a couple of weeks I told a couple of my close friends. But never in a million years would I go and post my blog address on my facebook page or anything like that. It's just not that kind of blog. Now that I have been blogging for about 6 months more people that I know have come to find out about the blog ... and that is totally fine with me. Many of my friends read it and many family friends read and I like that they find me interesting :) However I don't go around blabbing about having a blog and I get really mad at the Beau when he talks about my blog in front of a large group of people. We were at a wedding shower the other day and a group of us were about to take a picture and he said something like .... I hope you know that all of you are going on the blog. I wanted to punch him because a.) he doesn't even know what I write about because b.) he doesn't even read it! Which, by the way, does not hurt my feelings in the least. Anyways, you get the point ... I don't so much like to talk about my online life offline. haha :)

Last night my book club met at a cute little restaurant downtown for dinner, drinks, dessert, etc. As I mentioned in a previous post, we extended Redeeming Love for 2 months. We won't discuss the book until February but we wanted to get together in January just to catch up and have some girl time. This is the first time we have all gotten together outside of someones home and I had the best night! Well somehow blogging came up, a few of the other girls have blogs, and I divulged about my blog. gasp. And then this morning I emailed them all my blog address. double gasp. And they all are probably about to come over. triple gasp. Hello Girls!

So basically I came out of the closet to my book club and it wasn't so hard. What was I so worried about? Who knows! Here we are last night in all of our glory ...

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Beau announced to me on Sunday that he was planning a trip for us to Lexington, Kentucky one weekend in April to go to the Keeneland horse races. This is something he did with his family growing up that he really enjoyed. I'm a creature of habit and my family used to take long weekends to the beach or the mountains or sometimes places like Disney World or New York but we never drove 5+ hours to a horse race and I never have had the desire to do so. So of course I am apprehensive. I love to travel and discover new cities but this wasn't high on my list of "places to visit". I am also not big on riding in the car for more than 4 hours and I would rather put that money towards a big vacation this summer. But the Beau is super excited about this and thinks we are going to have a blast. Maybe we will ... I just don't know a lot about it. The picture above that I googled looks very pretty. So you tell me. Have any of you ever been to these horse races? Is Lexington a fun town? Do you think it is a trip worth taking? Give me the scoop!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Well I spent five full days on Jury Duty. It was an experience to say the least. It was a lot of up and down, in and out, waiting, waiting and more waiting but the time spent in the actual court room was very interesting, very sad and very disturbing. On Friday night around 6:00 p.m. my fellow jurors convicted a man on 3 counts: incest, child molestation and aggravated child molestation. Makes me sick to my stomach! Since it was an open court room a few of us stayed to hear the sentencing ... this man will spend the rest of his life in prison. I have thought a lot about the case since Friday, I can't seem to get it out of my mind. I feel like justice prevailed but it still doesn't take back what the man did to his own young daughter. It amazes me what human beings are capable of.

During all my waiting I was able to read Redeeming Love for my book club. I could not put it down and I finished it in 4 days. I cannot rave enough about Francine Rivers and I encourage every single person to pick up this book. Now I will tell you, I like chick-lit (good-old fashion trash) and I was apprehensive about being able to get in to this book but it is seriously the best book I have ever read. Hands down. I cannot wait for book club on Wednesday to discuss it. It is a wonderful story of forgiveness and Christ's unwavering love. Please, please, please read it! I want to read the book of Hosea before Wednesday .... do you think that is possible? I don't even know how long Hosea is. Anyways, I am definitely going to order The Lineage of Grace series and the Mark of the Lion series also written by Francine Rivers.

Since I did not get out of court until 6 pm on Friday night my mom and I decided to leave for Atlanta on Saturday morning and spend the night on Saturday night. We picked up a couple of great lines and I am excited about sharing them with you all soon! I had the chance to meet up with the lovely Blue-Eyed Bride and that was such a treat!!! We will have to make a tradition out of that BEB and maybe next time we will have more time to visit. :)

Last night the Beau and I went to our first Financial Peace University class at church. It was amazing and we are already completely on-board. I think that this class is going to be so good for both of us spiritually and finacially. I am sure I will be talking a lot about this class so get prepared!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

On Friday morning my mom and I are headed up to Atlanta for the weekend to go to market. The holidays basically cleared her store out and I am very excited to get some fun new stuff in. Are any of my bloggy friends buyers or do any of you own stores? Will any of you be at the show this weekend? If so, let me know! We are planning to be there Friday thru Sunday but plans might change if this case doesn't conclude. I am praying we will be released on Thursday. Fingers crossed!

Monday, January 5, 2009

I may not be around too much this week because I am fulfilling my civic obligation and serving on Jury Duty. Today was very looong and I was chosen as an alternate juror for a criminal case. Since I am an alternate I will sit in on the hearings but I will not have to give my opinion and that works for me. They said the trial is expected to go until Wednesday or Thursday so you probably won't hear much out of me ... our computer at home does not like Blogger as much as my computer at work (oh the irony) and it makes me crazy - I tried cropping this pic and it didn't work on the first try so I am not fighting it.

Hope you all had eventful Mondays and I will catch up with you all asap!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Back at work. You? It's 2009 and I am ......... exhausted. I have been running ramped since Thanksgiving. I didn't take off any extra time during the holidays and, believe me, we get the bare bones ... Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Between holiday festivities, parties, family and friends we have not slowed down. I am ready for some good r&r.

So ... lets take a little vacay. If time and money were no object, where would you spend a lavish 7 days and 7 nights? I choose here.